It is generally known to secure ISO-containers and/or swap containers on transport vehicles by means of so-called twist locks. For this purpose, the corners of the ISO-containers and/or swap containers are provided with standardised so-called corner castings, into which a locking element of the twist lock can be introduced and rotated in order to secure the ISO-container and/or swap container on the transport vehicle. Rotation of the locking element establishes a positive-locking connection between the corner casting and the locking element. This type of twist lock is described e.g. in the German laid-open document DE 196 06 263 A1. The twist locks therein are secured to opposite ends of transverse beams of a semi-trailer. In order to prevent the twist locks from protruding in their non-operative position beyond the ends of the transverse beams in an unwieldy manner, they can be pivoted in about a vertical axis.
A further locking apparatus is also known from European Patent EP 0 996 562 B1, by means of which ISO-containers can be secured on a railway-car. This locking apparatus consists substantially of a stop element which can be pivoted open in the region of the end side of an ISO-container and which is held in a vertical position by means of an elongated knee lever. In this vertical position, the stop element lies against the end side and can thus prevent the ISO-container from sliding in its longitudinal direction on the railway-car. In order to prevent the ISO-container from lifting off from the railway car, a pin which engages into a recess in the end side of the railway-car is disposed on the end of the stop element remote from the railway-car. Moreover, the stop element can be pivoted from its vertical locking position to a horizontal non-operative position, in which it rests flatly on the loading surface of the railway-car and does not hinder a pivoting movement of a slightly raised ISO-container in the region of the railway-car. In its vertical locking position the stop element and its pin lie in the region of the corner castings of the ISO-container against the end side thereof.
Furthermore, an apparatus for fixing an object on a movable plate, in particular a freight container on a loading surface of a rail or road vehicle is known from the German Patent DE 43 34 255 C2 and comprises several securing elements which are disposed so as to be distributed on the loading surface. These securing elements can be pivoted about a horizontal axis which is directed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The securing element is substantially c-shaped in formation and comprises a first eye-shaped element and a second hook-shaped element. If a container is set down on a loading surface of the vehicle, then the sleeve is pressed into the loading surface from the underside of the container. As a consequence, the entire securing element is moved about the axis thereof and therefore the hook-shaped bent part of the securing element opposite the sleeve is pivoted in the direction of a sidewall of the container. The hook-shaped part then lies against a protrusion of the container which projects laterally from the sidewall. Several of these securing elements are disposed on the longitudinal sides of the platform of the transport vehicle, in order thus to lock in a lateral manner a container which is set down on the transport vehicle.
Furthermore, a system for loading and unloading containers onto and off a ship is already known from the European patent specification EP 0 302 569 B1. This system comprises at least one quay crane for loading and unloading the container ships moored at a quay. The quay cranes are used to pick up the containers from a transport vehicle or to set the containers down on this transport vehicle. This transport vehicle is movable on the quay without the use of rails and is guided automatically by a controller. The container is unloaded by the transport vehicle or is picked up by the transport vehicle at a stationary transfer station. This transfer station consists substantially of positionally fixed support tables, onto which the containers are set down or from which the containers are picked up. These support tables are formed in the shape of support arms and support the container from below in the region of their longitudinal sides. Accordingly, the distance between the opposite support tables is designed to be smaller than the width of the containers. In order to be able to pick up the container from the support table or set it down thereon, it is provided that the transport vehicle comprises a platform for transporting the containers and either the transport vehicle overall or only its platform is raised for the purpose of transferring a container, the transport vehicle then moves, with the container now resting on its platform, out of the region of the support tables. When using a platform which can be raised and lowered, the platform still has to be lowered so that the transport vehicle can continue moving. In this case, the containers are set down on the support table in the opposite sequence. To ensure that the transport vehicle can pick up the containers from the transfer station, the lifting table has a width which is smaller than the distance between the opposite support tables. It is not described whether the container is additionally held on the platform of the transport vehicle.